Kurumi's Disappearance
by Azurknight
Summary: A special Shido and Kurumi fic that is different from the others, but is still a continuation of Kurumi's Return and it's sequels.
1. Chapter 1

Kurumi's Disappearance

It has been seventeen years since Shido married Kurumi and has had six children with her, their triplet identical daughters and son, Asami, Saori, and Reiji, their fourth child, a daughter named Miki, their youngest daughter Emi, and their infant son Koji. In this time, Shido has never once complained, has always shown pride in his children and wife, and has been a hardworking loving father and husband. At the moment, Shido is just sitting down with Kurumi on a couch in their home at night almost ready to go to sleep.

Shido gets up to go use the bathroom, and when he passes by Miki's room, he sees Saori helping Miki with her homework. He sees her smile as she helps her younger sister and rubs her head like her father does, and this makes Shido happy to see his children getting along with each other. Then he hears Miki say.

"I love you big sis."

This makes Shido remember the times he spent with Kotori and makes him feel a little nostalgic. After he uses the bathroom, Shido encounters his youngest daughter Emi in the hallway. Her blue hair is a little messy from her head lying on her pillow. Shido kneels down to look her in the eyes and asks nicely.

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed, Emi?"

Emi looks a little nervous as she says with her red eye and gold eye wide open.

"Would you…read me a story, daddy?"

Shido can't say no to Emi, but asks.

"Don't you usually ask mommy to read to you?"

Emi shakes her head and responds.

"Mommy doesn't do the voices like you."

Shido doesn't mind reading to his beloved Emi, so he gets her to go back in bed and asks her what story she wants to hear, and she answers.

"I want to hear the story of Urashima Taro."

Shido nods and grabs a book from a nearby shelf. He then reads the story until Emi nods off and falls asleep all together, he rubs her head as she sleeps, and then gently walks out of her room. He rejoins his wife on the couch and she wraps her arms around him and puts her legs on his lap. Shido does enjoy spending time with Kurumi, but he is simply just too tired from a long day. Kurumi looks a little disappointed but understands that Shido does get tired after work and spending time with the children drains what's left of his energy, but tomorrow he has the day off so they can spend more time together then.

Shido and Kurumi then go to bed themselves. They assume their usual positions and hold each other as they sleep. As he lies next to his wife, Shido thinks to himself before falling asleep.

" _I really can't imagine my life without her, or our children."_

The next morning, Shido wakes up and stretches his arms as he yawns. He then looks at his side to see Kurumi and say good morning since she usually wakes up before him. But to his surprise, Kurumi isn't next to him and he wonders why, but doesn't pay much attention to it since she may just be in another room. He then looks around and sees something very odd, he sees that he's no longer in the bedroom that he shares with Kurumi, rather, he's in his old bedroom from when he lived with Kotori. At first he thinks he's dreaming and attempts to go back to sleep but can't nod off. He keeps his eyes closed for a while, and then someone jumps up and down on top of him. He then thinks.

" _No way, it can't be!"_

Shido opens his eyes and he sees Kotori she has a big smile on as she says.

"Rise and shine!"

That jump felt way too real to be a dream, and Kotori looks like she's fourteen again. Kotori is 34 and shouldn't look that young from Shido knows. Suddenly, Shido is a little worried and Kotori says with a less happy smile.

"Hey, I didn't think it'd hurt that much. Are okay, big bro?"

Shido is confused and worried, so he asks.

"Kotori, do you know where Kurumi is?"

Kotori looks a little confused as well, and answers.

"Who's Kurumi?

Shido responds by saying.

"My wife and the mother of my kids."

Kotori then chuckles a little and says.

"I get it; you're trying to pull a fast one. You can't have kids until I stop being cute okay, so you're going to be waiting a long time, got it?"

Shido is now worried. He does his best to stay calm and still concludes that he is in a dream. The day proceeds like how it would with Kotori before Shido knew about the spirits. He continues to go with the flow of the morning hoping that he'll just wake up after a while. Since it is Sunday, Shido doesn't have to go to school. He decides to pass the day by just staying home and doing chores, continuing to hope that he'll wake up and be with his family again. But as the day comes to an end, Shido hasn't woken up yet and he is starting to really worry.

Kotori begins to notice her brothers worry and asks with concern.

"Big bro, are feeling okay?

Shido, despite his nervousness, remains calm and simply replies.

"Yeah, I guess I'm just a little under the weather."

Kotori then suggests.

"You should take a bath then. I'll let you go first tonight since I'm that nice."

Shido takes Kotori's advice since a bath may be able to help clear his head. Shido goes into the bathroom and draws his bathwater. He then begins to take off his and as he takes off his shirt, he notices a large bruise on the front of his shoulders that look like hand prints. He gets startled and looks in the mirror to inspect the bruises better, but when he looks in the mirror, the bruises disappear. More confused, Shido feels his shoulders to see if he feels any pain from where the bruises were, but nothing. He then looks with his eyes outside the mirror, but again, nothing. He pays too much attention to himself, and the water overflows out of the tub and he slips trying to turn off the water. Kotori barges into the bathroom to see if Shido is okay since she did hear his fall.

"Big bro!"

Shido bumped his head against the tub and rubs it as he says.

"It's okay Kotori, I just feel is all."

As he rubs his head, Shido notices that something else isn't right, he doesn't feel any pain from his fall, despite a red mark being visible on his forehead. Shido is now beyond confused at his situation. He regains his composure and takes his bath but can't think straight because of all his confusion.

After he finishes, Shido cooks dinner since he is feeling hungry. He cooks hamburger steak since Kotori was craving it apparently. Shido likes the way the food turned out since in his years married to Kurumi, Shido practiced his cooking skills to treat his family to tastier meals when he cooked. Kotori has a blush as she eats her dinner expresses great enjoyment. Shido also notices that not once has Kotori made fun of him, or talked about Ratatoskr, or even wear her black ribbons. He then asks her.

"Hey Kotori, how's Ratatoskr doing?"

Kotori may as well have question marks above her head since she gives him a blank look and asks.

"Is that some kind of videogame or something?"

Shido then presses a little harder since she may just be playing dumb.

"Ratatoskr, you know, Fraxinus, Reine, spirits, dating sims."

Kotori snaps her finger and she says.

"Oh, I get it; you must be making up a game in your head. Can I be in it? I can be the adorable little sister, and I bet you're planning on your girlfriend to be the love interest."

Shido then gets a little confused about she's talking about.

"Girlfriend?"

Kotori then adds with a little wonder.

"Uh hello, don't tell me you forgot about her. Come to think of it, I'm surprised you didn't go out on a date with her today, but I'm super happy you stayed home all day with me. Still, you should have invited her; you know how much Tohka loves your cooking big bro."

Shido isn't very surprised to hear that Tohka is his girlfriend, but it still doesn't make him feel different for his family.

" _I've occasionally thought of what life would be like if I married Tohka, but…that doesn't make me feel right about this. I married Kurumi for a reason._

Shido proceeds to eat his dinner with Kotori, and it does taste good. After finishing his meal, Shido still feels hungry and notices that Kotori is full and she hasn't eaten all of her food.

"Hey Kotori, I know I don't normally ask this, but can I have the rest of that?"

Kotori smiles and retorts with.

"Only if I can have dessert later."

Shido smiles and says.

"Okay, that sounds fair."

Kotori moves her plate over to her brother, which has a chunk of meat and a couple of vegetables from a salad on it. After eating Kotori's unfinished food, Shido still feels hungry so he decides to make a trip to a nearby convenient store to buy some instant noodles rather than make more food and make another mess in the kitchen. He offers Kotori a chance to come with him so she can pick out her dessert for the night, but she wants to take a bath since she hasn't taken hers yet. Shido knows what she most likely wants.

Once he exits his old home, Shido then begins to show signs of worry, but keeps it in his head.

" _What is going on!? Why am I suddenly sixteen again, and why haven't I woken up yet!? I want to see Kurumi, and just as important, I want to see my kids!"_

Shido tries not to panic, but the idea of not waking up to see his family makes him worried beyond words. He wants to be able to read to Emi, he wants to see his children bond with each other, and he wants to hold his wife in his arms again. He wouldn't be so worried if this dream only went on for an hour or a little more, but he's felt like he's been wide awake for about ten or eleven hours.

Shido takes a few deep breaths and calms down again since panicking won't do him any good and even now he wants to be a role model for his children, even if they aren't around at the moment. He then shivers a little since he notices that it is rather cold outside and he's wearing a short sleeved shirt without a jacket or anything. He feels a little better about the temperature once he enters the convenient store since it is a little warmer. Shido already knows what he's after and picks up the items that he wants quickly so that he can get some more food and get back home quickly. As he readies to get to the counter to pay, he sees the cashier, a plain looking man, talking to himself in a strange manner.

"Why are kid's evil useless punks."

Shido has to wave his hand in front of the man's face to get his attention.

"You mind if I pay for my stuff here?"

The man seems to come out of a trance and responds.

"Got easy treats, useless punk."

Shido doesn't understand why this cashier is speaking so weirdly.

"OOOkay, so can I get a total please."

Shido pays for his stuff and exits the store, but now he doesn't feel cold once outside; actually, he feels warm now, like being wrapped up in a blanket. The bruises were one thing, but now his body temperature is acting weird, Shido doesn't know what is going on. He quickly gets back to his home and gives Kotori some different flavored lollipops and cooks his instant noodles. They taste average, which is expected. Kotori watches him eat his noodles and asks if she can have a little, and Shido lets her slurp a few noodles and she even takes a sip of the broth. Shido takes back his noodles and continues to eat the noodles, but he still feels hungry even after eating all the noodles and drinking the broth. Shido feels that maybe it's because he stressed out and that he knows he's eaten enough.

He goes to bed shortly after, and as a extra caution, he sets his alarm clock since Monday is tomorrow so that means he would have to go to school. Shido, however, can't fall asleep; he lies down with his eyes closed for two hours, but he won't fall asleep. He sits in bed until about six in the morning trying to fall asleep, but can't. He decides to turn off his alarm since it will only be a loud annoyance. The more Shido thinks about things, the weirder he notices this so called dream is becoming, and it makes him question if he really is in a dream or some kind of alternate world. The only things keeping his mind clear is thinking of Kurumi and their children.

Kotori attempts wake Shido up with another "Rise and Shine" but she stops when she sees his face and notices that he doesn't look happy. She looks at him with sympathetic eyes as she asks.

"Big bro, are you okay?"

Shido puts on a forced smile as he answers.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just a little slow to wake up I guess."

"Well, if you say so. Want me to handle breakfast this morning?"

Shido shakes his and says.

"No, I like to cook. I can't let you take that away from me, can I?" 

Kotori regains her smile and goes into the living room and waits for her breakfast. Shido cooks breakfast, but then as he cooks, Shido now suddenly feels full, like he ate a feast fit for a king. Because of this, Shido doesn't touch much of his breakfast and ends up putting it in his lunch for the day.

Shido decides to go along with the flow until he can get back to his family, but things are only getting weirder as his day goes on. On his way to school after splitting up with Kotori, Shido is run into by Tohka, who immediately clings to his arm. She has a very chipper attitude and has a big smile on her face as she greets him.

"Good morning, Shido!"

Tohka nuzzles his arm for a minute and then Shido greets her as well.

"Oh, hey Tohka."

Shido sees Tohka on a fairly regular basis since she is still an important person to him, so seeing her isn't surprising for him. However, he doesn't know how to respond to her more affectionate behavior she is currently displaying. She, out of the blue, attempts to kiss him on the lips, but Shido puts his hand between them, and Shido thinks to himself.

" _That was a little odd. Tohka doesn't come on so quickly, but then again, maybe because it's been over seventeen years since this, so I don't remember so well."_

Tohka pulls back and has an upset look on her face as she says.

"Why did you do that? I thought boyfriends and girlfriends kissed each other."

Shido feels a little bad about what he just did, but kissing other girls, even Tohka, doesn't feel right to him since he is devoted to his wife, but he wasn't married, he probably would kiss Tohka. He makes up an excuse to Tohka to calm her down.

"Oh, I just don't think we should be kissing this early in the morning. _I can't just say I'm married with six kids, she'd never believe me."_

Tohka's expression changes to pouty as she responds.

"Okay, but you'll have to kiss me ten times later, okay?"

Shido reluctantly agrees for the moment and thinks.

" _Oh I really hope I wake up soon."_

Tohka still clings to his arm and they walk to school together. Being at school makes Shido feel nostalgic and he actually looks forward to seeing since he hasn't seen her in years. Seeing his old classmates is also fun, but he's worried about how he'll handle Origami again; he hasn't had to deal with her advances in years and has mostly forgotten about how to handle her. Of course, being married to Kurumi will definitely help his case should it come down to it.

Shido takes his seat, just like how he used to, and waits for class to start. He hears some familiar voices coming from everyone he remembers. He hears Tonomachi acting like Tonomachi, the trio of girls gossiping, and others. However, Origami isn't around. Shido thinks that maybe she's just out sick or something and doesn't pay any more attention to it. As Shido reminisces more, takes her spot in front of the chalkboard and announces to the class.

"Good morning everyone, may I have your attention. Are you ready for a surprise? A transfer student is joining our class today."

This catches Shido's ear as he thinks.

" _Wait, could this be…"_

calls for the transfer student. The door opens, and walking into the room, a familiar face that Shido is happy to see. Just like the day they met, she writes her name on the chalk board: Kurumi Tokisaki. She announces to everyone.

"Hello guys. my name is Kurumi Tokisaki."

 **Author's Note- This is the first shipping fic I will do that is a two parter, but this will not be the last. Due to Halloween being around the corner, I thought it would be fitting to incorporate spookier elements into a fic in the spirit of the holiday. This will not be the only one either, I may make another Halloween based one before too long, but I may not have the time. However, I will do other holidays when they get closer. My holiday ones will most likely the main two parters.**


	2. Chapter 2

Kurumi's Disappearance Part 2

Shido is happy to see Kurumi again and doesn't know what to say. Instead, he can't but feel a little jealous since most of the students are staring at Kurumi. Shido also remembers that this is around the time she originally admitted to being a spirit. However, Kurumi says something different; in the same tone as before, she says.

"Just so you know; I'm not from around here."

She may say something different, but at the same time, Shido feels like she really didn't mean to say those words. Everything else goes exactly like the day Shido met Kurumi; the only difference is that Origami isn't around. Kurumi asks for someone to show her around the school, denies Tonomachi's offer, and specifically asks Shido to do it; to which he agrees without being told anything. He offers to show her the student store, but this time, she has something else in mind. Unlike before, she requests Shido, in a sultry tone.

"Actually, I would like for you to show me the roof first."

Shido doesn't think that it is too odd considering all the odd things that have been happening to him, so he agrees. A little later, Shido and Kurumi walk to the roof of the school. There, Shido tells Kurumi about the roof. He half expects her to just say "That's interesting", and while she stares at him as he talks about the roof, she instead walks close to him without saying anything. Shido walks over to the railing near the entrance to the roof and Kurumi simply follows him. She stares at him and eventually puts her hands on his chest and presses him against the part of the building where the entrance is. Shido doesn't exactly know how to respond to this and blushes as he says, a little flustered.

"Uh, Kurumi, what are you doing?"

Kurumi smiles and asks with a sultry tone.

"This isn't a problem is it?"

Shido becomes more flustered as Kurumi puts her face closer to his. Then Shido remembers something rather crucial at the moment.

" _Wait, I'm supposed to be Tohka's boyfriend here right? But Kurumi is supposed to be my actual wife. But if she sees us then…Uhh! What am I supposed to do?"_

Before Shido realizes it, Kurumi already has her lips on his, and he can't help but put his arms around her since it feels right to him. After a few seconds, Kurumi pulls her head back and Shido doesn't know how to feel. Kurumi smiles and asks.

"Did you enjoy that?"

Shido becomes more worried as he says in his head.

" _Yeah, I enjoyed that, but why do I feel like I just cheated? If Tohka finds out, she'll be very angry. But is she even a spirit anymore? Hold on! Kurumi admitted to being a spirit when I first saw her, so I'll ask."_

Shido, still flustered, asks Kurumi.

"So, uh, Kurumi, are you a spirit?"

Kurumi looks a little confused for a second, but then smiles as she says.

"I can be a spirit if you want."

Shido wonders what she would mean by that, but keeps serious as he asks.

"No, I mean…well what about your eye?"

Kurumi simply lifts her hair to show Shido her left eye which isn't a clock, but is simply gold in color. She explains.

"I have two eye colors, but I like my hair like this, so I style it this way."

Shido thinks that makes sense, but this makes him wonder about Tohka. Kurumi walks away and says as she opens the door, in a sultry tone.

"If you want more of me, then just ask. I'm game any time you are, my Shido."

Kurumi exits the roof and Shido blushes until his face is bright red. He calms down and gets ready to go back, but has to think about what he's going to do next.

" _Okay, I just cheated on my girlfriend. Wait, if this is a dream, then it isn't cheating. But why do I feel like a jerk. Why did this have to happen during the worst time!? Either way, I'd better tell Tohka; if this she doesn't level the city, she'll probably stab to death with a knife if I let this get out of hand."_

Shido gets mentally prepared to tell Tohka about what just happened with Kurumi. He takes a few breaths and then opens the door. Behind the door is Tohka, and she has tears running down her face; Shido realizes that she already knows, and tries to explain it to her.

"Tohka, it isn't what you think."

Tohka pushes him down and simply says, in a clearly upset tone.

"You're a real jerk, Shido."

She slams the door and Shido feels even worse about what just happened. He wants to make things right with Tohka, but he can't ignore Kurumi either. This world is definitely a dream, but Shido can't let that mess with his principals. Dream or not, Tohka is still an important person to him, and Kurumi is still the one he chose to be with. Shido decides to wait for Tohka to calm down since she won't be willing to talk to him for a while

Once the day ends, Shido waits for Tohka at the entrance since she refused to see him since the roof incident. But as he waits, Shido then just remembered something that doesn't seem right.

" _Kurumi kissed me on the side of the entrance, so how did Tohka see us. Why am I questioning this if this is just a dream? I just don't what to feel at this point."_

As Shido thinks to himself, he feels a sudden pain around his neck and rubs the area around it. He walks over to s nearby window on the school building, and sees a bruise on his neck and thinks.

" _Is this…Oh no! If Tohka sees this, she's growing to blow a fuse. Hold on, when did I even get this? Kurumi didn't even touch my neck."_

As Shido begins to worry, he feels someone hug him from behind. It has to either be Kurumi or Tohka; Shido hopes that if is Kurumi that Tohka be doesn't see him with her. Shido turns around and sees Kurumi right behind him with her usual smile. Shido looks around for Tohka, and he checks to see if Ai, Mai, and Mii are around to make immediate, if accurate at the moment, gossip about him hitting on the new girl. Oddly, Shido doesn't see anyone else around. He asks her in a straight tone.

"Kurumi, did you tell Tohka about what happened on the roof?"

Kurumi responds in a calm tone.

"Who's Tohka? I didn't tell anyone about our moment on the roof."

Shido seems to be forgetting that this is a dream, but everything is getting to him regardless. He also checks one more thing.

"Kurumi, do I have a bruise on my neck?"

Kurumi blushes and responds.

"Well, after what we did on the roof, I would be shocked if you didn't."

Shido gets flustered and says.

"What are you talking about!? We only kissed for about thirty seconds."

Kurumi puts one of her hands to her face and says, with a bigger blush.

"Do you want me to say it out loud? Are you into that sort of thing?"

Shido becomes flustered as well as he thinks.

" _What is she thinking abo…never mind, I have a good idea of what it is."_

Shido thinks that maybe Kurumi is the solution to waking up, so he invites her back to his home, and assures her, that they are only going to talk. He also thinks that if he is still in the dream by tomorrow, he will have to make it up to Tohka somehow. Shido expects to meet Kotori on the way home, but he doesn't see any sign of her. Once Shido and Kurumi arrive at the formers home, they sit down on Shido's bed and Kurumi implies certain ideas at first, but Shido gets straight to business. He asks her, in a serious tone.

"Kurumi, why are you acting like this around me?"

Kurumi grabs onto Shido's arm, and says, in a sultry tone.

"Because I'm interested in you."

"But why? _Not that I'm complaining."_

Before Kurumi can answer, someone opens the door. Shido expects it to be Kotori, but to his surprise, it's Tohka. As she opens the door, Tohka has a much calmer tone with a slightly sad expression as she says.

"Shido, about earlier, I want to…."

Tohka then sees Kurumi on Shido's arm, and she freezes in place. She starts to get upset again, but this time she walks up to Kurumi and pushes her and shouts.

"Get off of him!"

She then sets her sights on Shido, starts crying again, and asks with pleading eyes.

"Why? Why are you doing this to me?"

Shido has utter guilt and can't answer her. He tries to form any word of apology to her, and fails to notice Kurumi standing up. Tohka can't stop crying and Shido finally manages to form a word.

"Tohka, I…"

Tohka now has anticipation in her eyes, and Shido notices kurumi walk up to Tohka from behind. Kurumi grabs Tohka by her hair, pulls her head back, and tells her, in a deadly serious tone and her uneasy smile.

"Listen, Shido is mine, he wants me not you. So you're better just leaving and forgetting about him."

Tohka smacks Kurumi's hand off her hair and retorts in a very angry tone.

"No, he's my boyfriend. You're the one who should leave!"

Kurumi now puts her hand to her lips as she says, casually.

"Do you know what he said to me before you got here? He told me he wants me to have his children."

Shido and Tohka's eyes widen, and Tohka immediately replies.

"YOU'RE LYING! He told me…"

Kurumi stops Tohka as she tells her.

"Quit lying to yourself. Shido and I have only known each other for a day, and we've already done more that you've done in that pitiful relationship."

Shido can't believe what's happening. While he knows Kurumi would behave similarly, he's only seen act playful to get a rise out of the other girls. But she's plain lying to make Tohka upset. Shido steps in and tells Kurumi.

"Stop it!(looks at Tohka) She's made that last part up. I don't think that you need to leave, and I don't regret spending time with you."

Tohka looks Shido with pleading eyes again, and begs.

"Then say you love me, please!"

Shido doesn't how to respond since he can't say he loves another girl, even if it is Tohka, but he does greatly care for her. In the end he throws his cards on the table and confesses.

"I'm in love my wife!"

The two girls are now both looking at him with confused faces as they both say.

"Wife!?"

Shido doesn't what else to do, so he explains to both girls.

"Listen, I'm having a dream, and I know it."

He puts his arms around Tohka and gently says.

"Tohka, you're a very important person to me, and I'll always care for you, but…"

Shido then walks up to Kurumi and hugs her and says to both girls.

"I chose Kurumi a long time ago, and I don't regret that. She and I love each other, we have six wonderful children, and every one of my friends loves them as much as we do."

Shido reminisces about his married life while holding Kurumi and she playfully says.

"So, you choose me then. I told you, Tohka, Shido wants me."

Tohka now has a dark aura around her body as she has now become angry and broken. She says, in a sad tone.

"So…it's true."

It's as if Tohka didn't hear Shido tell her the kind things, all she apparently heard was Shido saying he loves Kurumi. Shido looks in horror as Tohka suddenly changes into her inverse form; she just suddenly has her inverse dress on. Shido panics as he thinks.

" _I thought spirits weren't a thing in this dream, but this IS a dream. I got to get Kurumi out of here."_

Shido grabs Kurumi's hand and runs away with her out of the front door and into the city since Tohka inverting is not a good thing. As they run, Shido can't help but think about how he never hoped that this kind of thing would happen. He manages to get the two of them to a nearby building to hide inside. Oddly, it is a café that should be open, but it's completely empty. Shido and Kurumi hide in the kitchen which is completely obscured from the outside view. They sit next to each other under a table; Kurumi has a look of fear on her face. Shido asks her.

"Why'd you say those things to her?"

Kurumi puts on a smile but her eyes look sad as she answers.

"I want you, and I thought if I threw myself at you, you'd be interested in me."

"But you didn't need to say those things. Kurumi, I should have told everything when we met."

Kurumi giggles a little as she replies.

"And believe such a story? I like idea of fooling around, but doesn't it feel like being chained down, having six children?"

Shido shakes his head and smiles as he talks about their children.

"No, not really; I love our children. Sure, I'm not this free man running around and partying every night, but I like coming home and hearing about the stuff they did. When you have kids, you have to put them before everything else."

Kurumi gets curious and asks.

"So, how do I feel about that?"

"You love our children as much as I do. In fact, I feel a little jealous sometimes because you can spend more time with them. I don't know how you feel about that life style, but I do know that when I see you smile, I know it's not faked."

Kurumi moves closer to Shido and leans her head against his arm and asks.

"So what are our children like?"

Shido loves talking about his kids, so this is something he very much likes answering.

"Well, we have four daughters, Asami, Saori, Miki, and Emi, and two sons named Reiji and Koji…"

Shido goes on for the next ten minutes talking about their children. Kurumi notices his passion and pride when he mentions anything about them, and she begins to think about trying a different approach, so she asks, bluntly.

"Shido, will you go out with me?"

Shido stops and calmly says.

"Sure, but I think I need to settle things with Tohka first. She deserves to know."

Shido stands up and exits the building, he tells Kurumi to stay while he deals with Tohka. Outside, Shido looks around, nervously, for Tohka. If this is a dream, then Tohka should be more rational, so he calls for her. After a minute, Tohka warps in front of Shido; her eyes are empty and sad. Shido approaches her and calmly asks.

"Tohka…do you know who I am?"

Tohka starts tearing up again and she replies.

"You're the one who broke my heart."

Shido walks up her and hugs her. She doesn't fight back since she has retained her memories. He tells her.

"Tohka, I'm sorry I couldn't return your feelings, but understand that I feel in love with somebody else."

"So you're saying that I couldn't make you happy?"

Shido gets more serious.

"It has nothing to do with that. I think if we did live together I would have been happy, but that's not the life I chose. Kurumi means the world to me, not just because I'm happy with her, but because of the life I've built with her. So please understand, Tohka, I want you to be in that life with us."

Tohka stops crying and backs off, however, she doesn't revert to her normal form. Instead, she begins to glow light purple and fades away. Then the city itself begins to fade away leaving only a small chunk of street. Shido hopes this means that the dream is ending. But after a minute of nothing happening, Shido begins to worry again. He begins to walk towards the ledge of the last piece of land and almost walks off when he realizes that he can fall off. He doesn't know what to do; Kotori, Tohka, and Kurumi aren't anywhere to be found. He sits on the ledge of the land and does the only thing he can do, wait. After more minutes of sitting, he hears a voice saying.

"I heard what you said."

He turns his head, and sees Kurumi, who is now wearing her astral dress. She sits down next to him and says.

"So, you broke some hearts just to be with me."

Shido ignores the fact that she's wearing her astral dress and responds.

"Yeah, but I wish that wasn't the case. Tohka, and the others mean a lot to me, but I still chose you over them. I feel like a jerk saying that; it feels like I just wrote them off."

Kurumi looks into the sky, which is now completely black, and asks while kicking her legs.

"So why did you overlook everything I did?"

Shido doesn't know if she's referring to the killings, or her harsh words in this dreams; nonetheless, he answers.

"Kurumi, what you did can't be forgiven, it can't. But, you gave up that life, and even created life with me. You didn't change completely, but you became a mother that our children respect and love. And someone that I saved, who chose to spend that life with me."

Kurumi's eyes tear up now, and she hugs Shido and says.

"I love you."

Shido hugs her back and replies.

"I love you too."

Shido rubs her head and she looks at him and plainly says.

"Now wake up, please."

Shido's body now glows white and the rest of the world around him begins to fade. Moments later, Shido's vision becomes blurry, and then he sees a shadow of someone's face saying.

"Please wake up."

Shido's vision now becomes clearer and he sees that he's in a hospital room hooked up to an IV machine. He turns his head and sees Kurumi sitting in a chair holding his hand; she looks as if she hasn't eaten in days since she looks a little thinner and he clothes are covered in water stains. Shido sits up and sees that he has a blanket over his hospital sheets; Kurumi notices that her husband has woken up and smiles with tears of joy running down her face as she hugs him. Shido then notices the bruises on his shoulders again. Kurumi won't stop crying and Shido asks.

"What happened?"

Kurumi looks at him and replies.

"I'll call the children and we'll explain everything."

Kurumi leaves the room to use a phone to call their kids at their schools and to call Kotori, who is babysitting the baby. With an hour, everyone is now present. Basically, what happened was Shido has been asleep for about a week. The bruises on the front of his shoulders came from when Tohka tried to help wake him up; she pressed her hands against his shoulders to shake him awake. His hunger, well it was a dream, he couldn't eat real food in a dream. He looked cold, so Kotori put a warm blanket on him. The bruise on his neck…well that Kurumi trying to wake him up by being his wife. But all the time, his kids kept calling for him to wake up or get up. Kurumi couldn't leave her husband alone, so she's been sitting at his side this entire time. She drank plenty of water, but hardly ate anything because she was upset. She also barely slept, so now she falls asleep on with her head on his lap.

Shido rubs Kurumi's head as she sleeps with a look of relief on her face. Outside the room, Saori looks into the room, and thinks to herself.

" _So, he chose to do the right thing. I guess I shouldn't have underestimated him; he is my dad after all. Oh well, my mom needs to get her hubby back. Besides, my fun shouldn't involve screwing my parents. Still, I wonder how my boss was able to give me such a power."_

Saori shrugs and continues to go home and wait for her parents to return home. A couple days later, Shido and Kurumi are getting their life back on track, and its night time. Shido feels happy that he's back to doing his normal thing and cuddles his wife as they sleep. The next morning, Shido wakes up and Kurumi is right at his side, already awake and smiling. Shido says, happily.

"It's good to wake up to that face again."

 **Author's Note- I am so sorry that this took so long. I intended to post this in October, but I didn't finish it in time. However, I will have the Thanksgiving fic ready before the actual holiday. The same goes for the Xmas themed ones. I hope you all can forgive me.**


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